howto bleed my radiator

Tonys04aveo · Post by **Tonys04aveo** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 10:37 pm

I need a little help...I have an 04 Aveo, I just put in a new radiator( same stock radiator) and need to know the steps to bleed it so it doesnt over heat any help would be great....(step by step, if thats not to much to ask:D) Thank you

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 11:08 pm

i don't know about the Aveo's engine but if it is anything similar to a 1.5 or a 1.6 Lanos then the cooling system self bleeding.

just fill up the system till the max mark, start the engine till the cooling fans kick on then off, open the reservoir cap to let out the bled air then wait till the fans come on then off again... refill with coolant if needed.

MMamdouh

Tonys04aveo · Post by **Tonys04aveo** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 11:21 pm

Thank you very much for your reply...I will try that right now and let you know how it works.

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 11:27 pm

just be careful when you take off the cap... the coolant will try to rush out of the reservoir so do it very very gentley and if the coolant tends to over flow; tighten the cap again and repeat the process one more time.

MMamdouh

Tonys04aveo · Post by **Tonys04aveo** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 2:22 am

Ok i was able to fill it up but the fan will not come on, the fuses and wires look fine and so does the fan. so im not sure what is wrong...any idea I might be able to try.

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 2:56 am

You have to wait for your car to reach operating temperature before the fan turns on, something like 2-5 minutes, depending on temperature and ECU, won't turn on immediately.

Also, I wouldn't recommend opening the coolant surge tank while the car is running, if something were to go wrong, 200 degree coolant could overflow and scald you, and that never feels good. Turn off your car and then loosen the cap, but wear eye protection and gloves just to be safe as the system is pressurized. The cap might also take some work as the pressure sometimes gets built up enough to require some tugging when the car is warm. I remember reading something in my service manual that a Lanos has a pressure hole on the top of the coolant surge tank and that if the pressure ever gets to high it will open up and bleed itself. At any rate, bleeding it yourself is a good idea as a bubble in the water pump can cause issues.

Also, how come you need a radiator so early? The cars been around only 2 years, did you get in an accident or was it a faulty radiator?

Tonys04aveo · Post by **Tonys04aveo** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 3:06 am

I was in am accident. had to replace the radiator and shroud for the fan and a few other little things. I let the car run for 5 mins and it started to steam up, the temp gauge only got up to half way, still the fan did not come on. Im lost

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:28 pm

i agree and disagree with you BosnianLanos:

you are quite right about the heating period... it needs some 5+ min. to get the cooling fans to work so you got to be more patent with that Tonys04aveo, on my car the fans didn't work till the temp. gauge was almost at the mid mark... took lots of engine revving till the temp was up so be patent.

also the stablizing pressure thing is correct: the reservoir cap got two valves, one to let out pressure in case the coolant system pressure was dangerously high in case of overheating or so and the other to let air in in case the coolant shrunk due to very cold weather (otherwise the atmospheric pressure would crush the radiator).

i disagree with the coolant operating timp. you mentioned, as far as i know the max temp. on a road car is some 130C or even less... on the Lanos the colling fans kick on at low speed at some 90C and at high speed at some 97C....200C is just too much.

OK opening the reservoir at such heat is dangerous too but you got to do it and you got to be careful... their is no point of keeping the bled air in the system. you have to open the cap very gently and keep an eye on the coolant level; if it keeps on rising till the point it is going to overflow then close it back again... protecton gloves is a good idea.

also opening the cap with the engine off is more dangerous than doing it with the engine on... when you turn the engine off you are still radiating heat from the block to the coolant arround the block, the only problem is that water is not circulating and the coolant in the block gets all the heat which adds up too much pressure... the cap will trigger a massive coolant blow out if opened at this point.

i personally saw that when i turn the engine off while the cooling fans are off (temp. less than 90C)... 3 min. later i turn the engine on and the cooling fans kicked on at hight speed (temp. at 97C or more) so it is never a good idea to open the cap with a turned off hot engine.

MMamdouh

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Sat Jun 11, 2005 4:48 pm

LoL, I meant 200 degrees Farenheight, even though I am European, I stopped working with celcius some time ago so usually when I mention degrees it is in Farenheight, I know 200 Celcius would warp a block to death. Most thermostats open at like 186F.

I stick to my idea of not opening the tank with the engine on, cause the pressure from the water pump could cause an overflow. You are totally right though about not opening it when the engine is hot, but sometimes you have to, and I have never had an issue.

Tonys04aveo: It is kinda weird that the fans don't turn on, be sure you sort that out before turning the engine on again. Double check fuses, relays, wiring and the fan it self, see if it spins by spinning it yourself, listen for noise. If all this doesn't work, time to get a new fan.

Good luck.

Tonys04aveo · Post by **Tonys04aveo** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 1:04 am

Thank you for your great replys...I was able to get the fan to run...I dont know how I missed it but one of the wires was cut, so I was able to fix that and now it works